The royal cemetery rested atop a quiet hill overlooking Ouroboros, marked only by a single pillar of black stone engraved with ancient serpent script.
Silva.
Emery placed a beautiful yellow flower at the foot of the monument before standing beside Shinta, and together they remained before the gravestone in silence.
A gentle breeze drifted across the hillside, stirring their robes as old memories surfaced unbidden. Below them, the palace's towering spires shimmered beneath the pale afternoon sun, but neither of them looked away from the name carved into the black stone.
The silence lingered for a long time before Emery finally spoke.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I should have come more often."
His gaze remained fixed on the monument as though expecting an answer that would never come.
